Visit any serious business website and chances are you'll find that the organisation in question also runs a company blog. Therefore, the decision to launch one (or to revive a pre-existing blog that previously fell through the cracks) as part of your own online strategy is a hugely impactful step forward – for numerous reasons.
This is because, although blogs were initially associated with telling personal stories, they have since evolved to become an effective means of communication for businesses, too. Entrepreneurs and business owners – whether at the head of well-established corporations or fledgeling startups – are increasingly using blogs to promote their message, brand, and product (or service).
But what else can they offer for small businesses?
The Benefits of Business Blogging
To further illustrate the advantages of maintaining a blog for your business, we've compiled a list that highlights the positive effects. Here are six reasons why you should be leveraging this basic content marketing approach:
1. It Will Boost Your Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) Strategy
By regularly uploading fresh and unique content to your company blog, search engines will recognise that you are providing an insightful and helpful service to online users.
As a result, they will index you based on keywords (words and phrases typed into search engines by users seeking detailed results). The more relevant that your content is, the higher you will rank; in turn, the more likely searchers will be to click on your website and be exposed to your brand.
This is one of the key benefits that your startup should undoubtedly take advantage of, regardless of if you are targeting a broad audience or the local populace. A well-constructed organic SEO strategy is a highly cost-effective way of attracting customers and should form the cornerstone of your digital marketing strategy.
2. It Allows You to Share Your Stories
Storytelling is a hugely important part of marketing, but in order to share things about your company, you need a platform on which to do so. This is where business blogging comes in.
Without a doubt, telling stories to your current and future customers alike will enable them to gain a more in-depth look into the goings-on of your business. Blogging helps foster a more profound sense of connection between consumers and your brand and serves as a foundation for building relationships, trust and loyalty.
You can also use your blog to share exciting company or industry news, as well as to discuss the details of past events concerning your business. After all, engaging PR is more intriguing to read than a formal write-up.
3. It Asserts Your Authority as an Expert in the Field
With a plethora of well-written and useful posts written on topics related to your industry, you can quickly become a trusted resource in your niche. Indeed, one of the main benefits of business blogging is that it enables you to assert yourself as a reliable source for all needs that potential customers may have. This can include advice, how-to’s, or even reviews of your products.
In fostering a sense of trust between your company and the outside world, as well as establishing yourself as an expert in your field, you are encouraging readers to return to your blog, too. Once you are verified as a go-to resource for valuable and insightful advice, it won't be long before readers decide to pay for your products or services as well.
4. It Connects People to Your Brand
When you are frequently publishing highly useful and up-to-date content, it encourages readers to return to your website. Blogs typically have a comment section on each post, too, meaning that readers have the opportunity to interact with one another and further discuss the topics at hand. Without even intending to, it is possible to create a community among your readers, further encouraging them to engage.
Blog posts are also an excellent resource for use in your email marketing strategy, as they provide a flow of valuable content to share in your newsletters. This can expand your audience from the readers acquired via direct website visits and search engine results to include your mailing list.
5. It Helps You to Gain Exposure
A key modern consumer trend is that customers want to feel a sense of trust with the companies that they shop with. By implementing a business blog into your promotion strategy, you can reap the benefits of boosted sales, increased online customer interaction, and an overall rise in website traffic.
If your content is particularly engaging and useful, people will start to share it, too, further maximising your exposure. Whether you are offering sage advice on a given topic, or thoroughly explaining how to do something, people tend to impart such information to others who need it.
This means more eyes on your website, and more potential leads for conversion.
6. It Indirectly Sells Your Products
Although you should be actively utilising various sales techniques, one of the key benefits of having a company blog is that it drives sales passively and consistently. Your content is available to be found anytime through search engines, rather than having to target specific times or places to gain exposure.
Just because you are providing helpful advice, it doesn't mean that you can't sell to people, either. As long as your posts are not overly promotional or sales-heavy, you can also use this platform to promote current offers, link to listed products, and display promotional banners.
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With the benefits of business blogging readily evident, it comes as no surprise that more and more entrepreneurs are seeking to hire content writers and taking advantage of the opportunities presented by having a company blog.
Indeed, a dedicated platform on which to attract potential leads, increase exposure, share stories and sell products should be at the foremost of your priorities when building your digital marketing strategy. Hopefully, this article has illustrated why, and proven the importance of having a well-written and consistently maintained company blog in place.
Was this article helpful? Are company blogs worth their weight in gold, or a waste of precious time and resources? Let us know your thoughts and opinions in the comment section below!